HHS Home > Digital Communications > Policies & Standards

Provide Plug-Ins for non-HTML Files

Classification:
[x] Standard

Categories:
[x] Accessibility/508
[x] Links
[x] Multimedia & New Media
[x] Required Pages & Elements

Standard:

HHS must provide links to free readers and/or related players/viewers for all non-HTML file formats, such as Adobe Acrobat (PDF), MS Word (DOC), MS PowerPoint (PPT), MS Excel (XLS) files and video files.

HHS must provide links to access necessary plug-ins for non-HTML elements on a web page.

Rationale:

Site visitors need full and free access to all information on HHS Web pages.

Exemptions: N/A

Sources: N/A

Requirements (content & style):

Links to viewers/players must be available from a prominent location—such as a linked notice placed at the top of a Web page or in the footer location—and must be used on all relevant Web pages.

If your page uses embedded video such as Flash, the page must detect if the user has the appropriate plug-in and, if not, prompt the user to install the player.
If your page links to an audio or video file, provide a link to the appropriate player.
If your page links only to Word files, use this notice (or something similar):
Documents in DOC format require Microsoft Word® or Microsoft Word Viewer®. If you experience problems with DOC documents, please download Word Viewer 2003®.
If your page links only to PDFs, use this notice (or something similar):
Documents in PDF format require the Adobe Acrobat Reader®. If you experience problems with PDF documents, please download the latest version of the Reader®.
If your Web page links to multiple non-HTML files, use this notice (or something similar):
If you need help accessing information in different file formats such as PDF, Word, MP3, see Instructions for Downloading Viewers and Players.

Related Guidelines:
Instructions for Downloading Viewers and Players

Checklist:
Provide links to plug-ins for all non-html formatted files and/or non-html page elements.